Orthopedic related surgeries often require repositioning/partial removal of bone. One of the commonly used tools to cut or prepare the bone is a reciprocating surgical saw blade. This practice is more common in a joint replacement surgery. A joint replacement surgery is a procedure in which the arthritic or dysfunctional joint surface is replaced with an orthopedic prosthesis. Joint replacement is considered as a treatment when there is severe joint pain or dysfunction is not alleviated by less-invasive therapies.
In a joint replacement surgery, a reciprocating saw blade is one of the various instruments which are used for cutting the bone. The saw blades have teeth on their cutting edge so as to facilitate cutting through the bone. During such a surgery, the reciprocating a saw blade is fitted in a motor driven power tool to cut the measured section of the bone. The saw blade when connected to a motor driven power tool may oscillate in a back and forth and sideways oscillating motion. To enhance precision in cutting the measured section of the bone, the saw blade is used in conjunction with a cutting guide that is fixed or pinned around the target anatomy so that the bone is precisely cut along the lines of the slot.
The surgeon performs the surgical procedure by sequentially inserting the saw blade in the slot. Once the blade is inserted in the slot, the saw is actuated by the power tool. In this manner the surgeon is able to cut the bone along the precisely defined lines along which the bone is to be separated. The blade cuts the bone where its motion range is constrained by the walls of metal cutting guide slot. Such an interface of the blade and walls of the cutting guide slot gives rise to friction which can increase the heat and debris, thereby affecting the outcome of the surgery. Debris generated increases the potential of osteolysis and eventually bone loss around the affected region. Friction may also unnecessarily consume the power supplied to the saw blade. The wearing of the blade can also widen the slot thereby affecting the accuracy of the cut. This means that the slot and/or blade must be repaired or replaced with a new one which in turn may again affect the accuracy and also increase the overall cost. In the long run, excessive wear may affect the accuracy of the cutting guide, in which case life of the cutting guide is compromised.
In certain orthopedic procedures, the instruments used to resect bone can produce instances where particulate metal debris can be formed by the action of passing a reciprocating or oscillating surgical saw blade through a cutting guide. Even though steps are taken to ensure that dissimilar metals and coatings are used, there is still a propensity for both microscopic and macroscopic metal debris to form. This debris can find its way into the joint cavity/capsule of the patient. This debris will then be present in the patient post-surgery, where it may have a possibility of becoming lodged in either bone tissue or soft tissue in the knee joint, or where the saw was utilized. The local effect of metal debris that remains in the patient can eventually lead to osteolysis and implant loosening or bone resorption.
There is, therefore, a general need to reduce undesired debris that can be generated during a surgical procedure while also maintaining accuracy and precision in the cutting of the measured section of the bone during an orthopedic surgery. There is also a general need to reduce friction at the interface between the blade and the walls of cutting guide slot used during an orthopedic surgery, thereby reducing undesired metal particles so as to prevent osteolysis.